Kaduna, Chinese firm sign pact for new refinery

The Kaduna State Government has signed a pact with a Chinese firm to build a new 50,000 barrels per day refinery in the state.

The representatives of the Kaduna Refinery Consortium, led by Governor Nasir el-Rufai, and the China Machinery Engineering Corporation, signed an agreement on the project this week in China.

A statement by the governor’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr. Samuel Aruwan, said that was the highlight of the investment and cooperation agreements the state’s delegation signed in China.

El-Rufai said the CMEC had been appointed as the contractor for the project.

The governor was quoted to have said, “The selection of the CMEC means that our plan for a greenfield refinery in Kaduna is gathering pace. The project includes laying an associated 400km pipeline from the border with Niger Republic to Kaduna to transfer crude oil to the proposed refinery.

“Project goals also include the construction of an 80-100 megawatts power plant adjacent to the refinery.”

El-Rufai explained that the project was being sponsored by the Kaduna Refinery Consortium, consisting of the Kaduna State Government, DGE/CCEGC and Tianjin, which had earlier signed an agreement in Kaduna committing themselves to the project.

“The MoU signed this week in China between the consortium and CMEC appoints CMEC as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the project. Malam Nasir el-Rufai signed for the Kaduna Refinery Consortium, while Li Mingqiang signed for CMEC,” the statement added.

The governor added that the Kaduna State team also signed a tripartite memorandum with the government of Hebei province and the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation.

He said the agreement was based on the “sister province, central enterprises” cooperation model, and commits the three parties to facilitate exchanges and cooperation in the areas of economy, trade, energy, infrastructure, technology, culture, education, tourism and health.

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